Poll puts leaders neck and neck

Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard have pulled out all stops in the campaign, as a new poll puts the two parties neck and neck one day out from the election.

The Newspoll, published in today's Australian newspaper, shows the vote has tightened in the past week with both parties sitting on 50 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

The primary vote for Labor has fallen from 38 per cent to 35, while the Coalition has seen a boost from 41 to 44 per cent.

The Greens' primary vote remains unchanged on 14 per cent.

In another boost for the Coalition, the three major News Limited daily newspapers - The Courier Mail, The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun have all thrown their support behind Mr Abbott.

Opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb says he is not surprised by the Newspoll result and the election still hangs in the balance.

"It is going to be a really tight election, there's no doubt about that," he said on ABC TV's Lateline.

In what was the only point of agreement in an otherwise fractious interview, Government spokesman Chris Bowen echoed Mr Robb's comments, saying the election would be the closest in living memory.

"If many of these opinion polls are reflected in the results on Saturday, we will wake up on Sunday with Tony Abbott as prime minister," he said.

Both leaders spent last night canvassing the public in a last-ditch effort to convince undecided voters.

Ms Gillard headed to the marginal seat of Patterson, north of Newcastle, where she shared a beer with voters at the Lakeside Valley Tavern in Raymond Terrace.

In what Labor pundits will be hoping is a good sign, the Prime Minister won a meat tray and picked the winning numbers for a punter's game of Keno.

Ms Gillard rounded out the night with a pre-recorded appearance on Channel Nine's NRL Footy Show in which she said she hoped she would fare better on Saturday than her favourite football teams, the Western Bulldogs and the Melbourne Storm.

"I am concerned that I want the election to go better than my current sporting record, but there's fight in the Bulldogs yet," she said.

She also talked about her motivation for entering politics.

"I didn't grow up dreaming of being prime minister. I know that there are some people who start dreaming about it in kindergarten," she said.

"For me I grew passionate about education, I got to go to university, coming from my family I thought that was really special.

"There were some big cutbacks to education under the then Fraser Government and I got involved in politics actively.

"I thought that I'd like to be involved in parliament, and if I got to be minister for education or minister for workplace relations in a Labor government that would be fantastic."

Abbott presses on

The Footy Show appearance signalled the end for the Prime Minister's push, but Mr Abbott's evening was barely beginning.

Making good on his vow not to sleep, he used a trip on the Manly ferry as an opportunity to press the flesh with voters in his own electorate.

A young voter bailed Mr Abbott up on the issue of gay marriage and remained unconvinced by the Opposition Leader's explanation on his stance.

Following Ms Gillard's example, the Opposition Leader headed to a Manly pub to meet constituents, knocking back the offer of a tequila shot for a shandy instead.

He then paid a visit to former tennis pro turned Bennelong candidate John Alexander, who is hoping to return John Howard's seat to the Liberals.

Mr Abbott used the opportunity to rally Coalition members, saying the outcome of the election could be decided by their efforts over the coming days.

His night continued with a number of radio interviews before visiting a police station in western Sydney.

Mr Abbott told Macquarie radio he was putting in the marathon effort to convince voters he was committed to the job.

"I'm just about the visit a police station in western Sydney, talk to the police about the sorts of things they have to face, particularly at this time of the night," he said.

"I've then got quite a few radio interviews and I guess I'll be back on the trail again at about four in the morning.

"It's the biggest job in the country, certainly the biggest job that the people can choose you for, and you don't get it by just resting on your laurels, you don't get it by talking, you get it by demonstrating that you really want it."

The Prime Minister is also set to focus much of her remaining time on New South Wales, where Labor is expecting significant voter backlash.

Ms Gillard will begin her day in Gosford in the marginal seat of Robertson, which is currently held by disendorsed Labor MP Belinda Neal, who is not standing for re-election.